Half Pints Brewing Co. Black Galaxy Black IPA at 6.0% ABV (C$6.50 at Sundance Wine Market, 650 ml, no bottle date or best before)
Pours clear brown with deep amber highlights, massively explosive rocky light beige head, excellent retention and lacing. (3/5) Nose is roasty malt, tropical fruit, citrus, cocoa, molasses, moderate brett funk (6/10) Taste is low sweet, moderate bitter, mild sour. (6/10) Light to medium body, moderate sustained carbonation, bitter and funky finish. (4/5)
A fairly enjoyable black IPA, with a lighter body than the dark colour would suggest. Gotta say, I’ve been reasonably pleased with my sampling of Half Pints so far – seems like a solid brewery. But, though I’m definitely getting the tropical fruit notes of the Galaxy hops in this one, I’m convinced there’s a runaway brett infection on top of everything – which probably explains the unmanageable head. I did a little research, and it seems like this thing was brewed only once – three years ago! Seriously? A three year old IPA? Dammit, people, why can’t you date your bottles? What’s this supposed to taste like? Who knows? It’s OK as-is, but I have no idea if it bears any resemblance to what it was and/or what it was intended to be. (12/20)
6/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com
